Over the years, a variety of designs have been developed that aim to assist a swimmer in aquatic propulsion. However, in comparison to these previous designs, the invention described herein achieves aquatic propulsion generated by the user's upper body motions which power a tail fin. While other systems use energy generated by a user's lower body in order to swing a tail fin to achieve forward propulsion, this invention uses handlebars which, when rotated, swing connecting members from side-to-side, propelling the swimmer forward. In an embodiment of the invention, the handlebars also feature collapsible fins on each handle, wherein when one side of the handlebar is moving forward, the fin on that side folds into a horizontal position to minimize resistance, while the collapsible fin on the other side folds up or down and abuts the handlebar to move water as the handlebar rotates and increase the thrust generated by the apparatus.
Other inventions have also recognized the benefit of using a tail fin to aid in swimming. However, those inventions are easily distinguishable from the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,637 (“the '637 patent”) discloses a hydrofoil fin that attaches to a user's feet and propels the swimmer forward using a repetitive up and down undulation with his or her legs. The '637 patent is controlled and powered by a user's lower body muscles and movement, as opposed to the present invention, which is powered by the upper body motions of the user.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,530 (“the '530 patent”) discloses an apparatus designed to flap a tail fin in a vertical manner, similar to a dolphin's tail fin. The apparatus in the '530 patent achieves this motion through the movement of the user's hips in reference to an attached anchoring article. In contrast, in the present invention, the use of a side-to-side moving fin allows the swimmer to move through the water using his upper body by rotating handlebars.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,531 (“the '531 patent”) discloses a dolphin-tail style swim fin that can be powered by holding a separate fin in each hand and moving the fins independently. Unlike the invention of the '531 patent, the present invention uses a fin shaped like the caudal fin of a shark.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,503 (“the '503 patent”) discloses a paddle with two blades that the user operates to propel themselves forward, as well as a vertical blade attached to both feet to provide propulsion in cooperation with the arm strokes. The present invention is distinguishable from the '503 patent due to the propulsion being provided solely from movements of the user's upper body. Additionally, in the present invention, the motion of the fin is a side-to-side horizontal motion.